The ethnic cleansing of Palestine, from the viewpoint of a concerned Australian.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

War on the unborn

Pro-war rally in London.

"Wafa al-Masri, 40 years old, and nine months pregnant, was walking to Kamal Odwan Hospital to give birth. with her was her sister, 26 year-old Raghada Masri. They were passing through the Diwar Mabub crossroads in the Beit Lahiya Project area. It was 4.30pm. Witnesses said they were hit directly by a missile from a surveillance drone. A paramedic here described the scene. "Her legs were shredded, there was just meat, and she had a serious chest injury, hypoxemia." Wafa was transferred to al-Shifa Hospital for a double leg amputation, from the upper thigh area down. Paramedics were apprehensive about her or her unborn child making it. Medics managed to save the right foot of Raghda Masri.

I visited her at Kamal Odwan today. Visibly distressed and writhing in pain, she recounted the story: "We were walking down the street when we heard the sound of the plane. I can still hear ringing in my ears. We were hit by a missile. We were in the main street, in broad daylight. We would never have expected this. I saw smoke, and I saw Wafa's legs all mangled. She was thrown metres away from me, I was thrown too. Her scarf was torn off her head, her hair was all burnt, she didn't look like my sister, her hair was gone, everyone was saying to me, "She's a martyr, she's a martyr." Today I learned medics managed to save one leg and that she gave birth to a healthy boy."

(Account by Ewa Jasiewicz, a human rights worker in Gaza.)

Meanwhile, pro-war demonstrations are taking place around the world. Can you believe it!